Katie Grimes Swims 15:56.27 LCM 1500 Free, #5 for 17-18 Age Group All-Time

2023 PRO SWIM SERIES – FORT LAUDERDALE

WEDNESDAY FINALS HEAT SHEETS

17-year-old Katie Grimes of Sandpipers of Nevada (SAND) swam a 15:56.27 in the 1500 free to kick off the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale. Grimes time puts her at #5 in the 17-18 age group of all time.

Top 5 in the 17-18 Age Group 1500 Free of All-Time

  1. Katie Ledecky, 15:25.48
  2. Kate Ziegler, 15:42.54
  3. Janet Evans, 15:54.23
  4. Erica Sullivan, 15:55.25
  5. Katie Grimes, 15:56.27

Grimes has a best time of 15:44.89 which she swam in finals of the 2022 World Championships this past summer. She was 16 at the time and that swim stands at #2 in the 15-16 age group of all time. Notably, that best time would place her at #3 in the 17-18 age group.

Today’s swim was her third fastest swim in the event ever as she also swam faster at 2022 International Team Trials as she swam a 15:51.36 then.

Grimes won the event tonight by over 20 seconds as teammate Bella Sims touched second in a 16:19.29. This is Grimes’ second time swimming the event since turning 17. She swam the 1500 free at the beginning of the year at the Pro Swim meet in Knoxville, touching in a time of 16:15.02.

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Tea rex
1 year ago

Do you think if I change my name to Katie I’ll get better at distance swimming?

Stephanie
Reply to  Tea rex
1 year ago

Absolutely!

Bears4
Reply to  Tea rex
1 year ago

Katie Rex has a nice ring to it

Awsi Dooger
1 year ago

That’s not bad. I didn’t expect sub-16 at this time of year. But the surprise element is due to the overall pathetic nature of women’s distance swimming, where typically a non-Ledecky time is always worse than what would have been forecast.

Grimes needs to make 15:50 her cruise level then ramp up at championship time.

Weinstein-Smith-Ledecky-Sims
Reply to  Awsi Dooger
1 year ago

The 2023 USA Swimming International Team Trials is more than sixteen (16) weeks away.

Chad
1 year ago

Geez I forgot ledecky was 15:25 at 18.

Yozhik
Reply to  Chad
1 year ago

All first three results in this list of the best 18 years old were actually world records.

Weinstein-Smith-Ledecky-Sims
Reply to  Yozhik
1 year ago

That was Katie Ledecky’s fifth …………………………… in the W 1500 FR.

Barcelona, Spain
Shenandoah, Texas
Gold Coast, Australia
Kazan, Russia

Emily Se-Bom Lee
Reply to  Weinstein-Smith-Ledecky-Sims
1 year ago

ah, yes. texas the country

Awsi Dooger
Reply to  Chad
1 year ago

18 is peak for women’s distance swimming. That’s why these 17-18 age group numbers aren’t nearly as meaningful as in other events. I thought Evans broke the world record at 16 and it was lower than the 15:54 quoted above.

Weinstein-Smith-Ledecky-Sims
Reply to  Awsi Dooger
1 year ago

Bull-o-ney!

Weinstein-Smith-Ledecky-Sims
Reply to  Chad
1 year ago

How could you forget five (5) finals, five (5) titles, three (3) world records? It doesn’t get any better than that.

Weinstein-Smith-Ledecky-Sims
1 year ago

Katie Grimes just turned 17 years old (DOB 08 Jan 2006). Plenty of opportunities to improve upon today’s performance going forward for the World Aquatics Championship’s silver medalist.

Swimmer
Reply to  Weinstein-Smith-Ledecky-Sims
1 year ago

(Seventeen)

About Anya Pelshaw

Anya Pelshaw

Anya has been with SwimSwam since June 2021 as both a writer and social media coordinator. She was in attendance at the 2022 and 2023 Women's NCAA Championships writing and doing social media for SwimSwam. Currently, Anya is pursuing her B.A. in Economics and a minor in Government & Law at …

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